Sam looked at Ambrose with a shocked look on her face. She was worried for him now as well as Caleb. She was worried for all of them. They had an incredible and difficult task before them and yet they weren't functioning as a team, instead there was blame being thrown and anger laced in words. She couldn't blame Ambrose for being angry. He had only recently discovered that this world he now lived in existed, and he was slowly coping with it, which wasn't good when he witnessed the way some decided to explore magic.

Sam walked over to Ambrose and sighed as she looked into his eyes. "Ambrose, we're going to get through this. I know you're new to all of this, but trust me we're going to make it. I just need you to focus and trust me. I wouldn't lead you down the wrong path." She paused for a moment to think about where Caleb might be. "If I know him as well as I should, I'm willing to bet he went back to the scene. He's looking for it, searching in a place he thinks it would be."

"I'll go after him," Ariana suggested, "Ambrose do you want to tag along?" she asked walking over to Ambrose and smiling. Regardless if they knew each other well enough or not, they were all in this together and the better they worked together the easier it would be for them to make it out of this situation alive. "I only hope we're not too late," Sam stated with a sigh as she turned and moved towards the table she had been standing in front of before Caleb's exit.

Caution tape warned any passersby that something had happened, but not what. Caleb stood in front of the house that so many deaths had occurred the night before. Back to the scene of the crime. Why he was there was obvious to anyone, but he took in the sinister place and sighed. He could feel an ominous wind blow through his hair and it caused his to shudder slightly. Slowly he moved towards the house, slipping under the caution tape and moving towards the front door. It opened just as he was about to touch it, causing him to retract his hand quickly. Sighing, he tried to calm his nerves. Breathing, he opened the door more and stepped through the threshold. The house had been cleaned of the bodies and blood that littered it that night. The smell still lingered and he covered his mouth with his hand as he moved through the house towards the basement slowly and cautiously.

The door to the basement was ajar, but he figured the cleaning crew had left it open. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary so far, but he still felt as if he was being watched. His descent into the basement came with a shock as he found the light still on. The door slammed shut and he whirled around to see nothing. His nerves were getting the better of him.

"Damnit Caleb you can do this," he kept telling himself as he moved around the basement searching for something. Then he saw it, the symbol etched into the wall. There was a pentagram, a very descriptive one written in what looked to be some sort of blood or red liquid. It was dry, but he saw it as clear as day. Had that been there before they started the ritual? They hadn't seen it because the lights were so dim, but now it was bright in the room and he could clearly see it. He slowly approached it, wondering why someone had drawn a direct link to hell on the wall. He felt the darkness, he felt extremely uneasy and he needed to get out. He started backing away from the symbol, wanting to get up the stairs as quickly as possible. He felt the urge to vomit, and he stumbled somewhat as if the air was being sucked out of his lungs, and the strength from his limbs. He got extremely light head as he neared the stairs, but he made his way up them opening the door and breathing. He gasped and whispered a prayer of thanks to whatever deity had helped him get out of the basement, but he wasn't out of the woods yet.

He could feel something, and as he stood up straight and turned around he saw it. Standing in the entry to the basement was a figure, pale skinned, eyes as dark as the night sky and teeth razor sharp. The hands on the creature were elongated and resembled claws. It was dressed in what looked to be pants and a trench coat. Caleb gasped at what he saw, but he slowly backed away from it until he was sure he could turn and run. Just as he rounded the corner that led to the front door he felt something snatch his shoulder back. He hit the wall with a loud thud as the demon picked him up, it's clawed hand digging into the flesh of his shoulder. Caleb let out a pain filled scream and the demon licked its lips in response. It appeared to be enjoying his agony.

Caleb tried to perform a spell, anything to help him in this situation, but the demon tossed him against the adjacent wall. He nearly had the air knocked out of him. He groaned as he crawled towards the door.

"You're foolish mortal," the demon spoke, "to come alone and yet perhaps you wished for this, I can feel your anger, your heart, your anguish. This boy, this Ambrose what does he mean to you?"

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!," Caleb yelled clutching his bleeding shoulder as the demon laughed.

"You should be more concerned with what I am going to do to you," it replied snatching Caleb up and slamming him into the wall. Caleb grunted in pain. If he was going to die, he didn't want to make it easy for the demon. He stood slowly to his feet.

"Is that all you got?" Caleb teased causing the demon to smirk.

"So tell me, how do you plan on saving him? When I am done with him you won't recognize him, or maybe I should let you watch. The looks on your faces when you set me free, the way your friend covered it up, she is a piece of work."

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM, ESPECIALLY HER!" Caleb spat shooting a spike of condensed energy at the demon. He missed as it looked at the wall behind it seeing the damage from the missile. The smile on its face when it looked at Caleb made him swallow.

"You're going to be fun," it said moving swiftly knocking Caleb against the wall. Caleb spits blood onto the floor as he struggled to get up, but he screaming in agony when he felt something stab him in the side. The demon's claws dug deep into his side, lifting him up and slicing into his flesh. Blood spilled from the wound as he glared into the soulless black eyes of the demon.

"SEE YOU IN HELL!" Caleb spat as he slammed both of his hands against the head of the demon. It roared and dropped Caleb who immediately began working his hands. The demon snatched its attention back on Caleb but before it could jump on him again, Caleb vanished. The demon roared in anger. Its prey had escaped.

As Ariana moved to prepared to depart, there was a loud thud on the other side of the room. Caleb had landed on one of the empty tables causing it to split in two. He wasn't moving and Ariana gasped when she saw it. Sam's eyes widened in fear as she stood, too shocked to move.

"Ca...Ca....Caleb," she finally spoke as she moved to his side. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. "Caleb," she said against shaking him, but there was no response. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she yelled tears streaming down her face as she didn't know what to do. Ariana rushed over to them and knelt down as her eyes began to water.

"Sam, Sam we need to get him to the medical wing, quickly," Ariana suggested as Sam looked at her as if she'd slapped her, but she nodded.

Sam had teleported leaving Jeremy, Ariana and Ambrose alone. She arrived at the medical wing and they immediately snatched Caleb from her. She was a mess, she didn't know what to tell them even though they asked her question after question. She was in the waiting room pacing the floor trying to figure out what she would tell them. The headmaster would know about this, and she would have to figure out how to avoid his piercing gaze. The man was able to look into the very soul of those unfortunate enough to feel his gaze. He was a powerful man, and she would have to figure out how to tell the man that his adopted son was in the hospital wing bleeding to death and unresponsive.

@Catmint

Ambrose swallowed thickly and flinched from Samantha when she approached him. He still only remembered her bloodsoaked clothes whenever she came near him. But to his surprise, her voice was soothing and level-headed. Ambrose first instinct was to bite back at Samantha, remind her that she was the reason they had gotten into this whole mess. But he took another shaky breath and bit his tongue. Sam was right, they needed to be in it together if they were going to get through this.

Ambrose nodded slowly, "Fine. I trust you." Ambrose said to Sam, holding her gaze for a moment. He turned his attention to Ariana, a stiff nod was his response. He didn't return the smile, instead his eyes were cast downward. Ambrose wasn't intending to be rude, but he was simply more absorbed with the reality of having to face that monstrous thing. The mere thought was bone-chilling, and truthfully, he just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend none of this was happening.

As Ambrose moved to join Ariana by the door, a thunder-cracking thud startled them all. When they turned, panicked gasps and exclamations broke out from them. Ambrose covered his mouth with his hand, as if holding back a yell or cry. Before anyone could move forward, Sam was there first, wailing for help. The cries were awful and bonechilling, Ambrose could only shut his eyes and hope it would be over soon. Luckily Ariana kept her head, reminding Sam of the medical wing. And just like that, they were gone.

Ambrose peeked open his eyes, still shaking from the bloody sight. "Oh god, oh god..." Was all he could managed out, collapsing down in a nearby chair. Jeremy had a similar reaction, mumbling something to himself over and over. Until finally he burst up, "What the hell are we going to do? We can't answer any of their questions! If he dies, then we're going to be in even deeper shit!" Jeremy cried out, pacing frantically. Ambrose shook his head, eyes still staring blankly at the wooden table in front of him. "Samantha will take care of it. She has to." His voice was emotionless, empty.

Nurses scrambled around the unresponsive Caleb as they checked his vitals. He was still alive, but he had lost a lot of blood. His wounds seemed to resist the magic they attempted to use to seal them. Worried, they had contacted the headmaster to see what course of action they had to take. Sam had finally managed to sit down, but it wasn't to last. She was back on her feet pacing the floor and biting her lower lip. It had been nearly an hour and they'd said nothing to her. She was worried and it showed on her face. With his life hanging in the balance, the nurses moved to use traditional medicine to keep the wounds from becoming infected. They cleaned the wounds and stitched the wounds together as best they could, but with wounds that resisted magic, it was hard to tell how long it would take for Caleb to heal.

Finally, after an hour and thirty minutes, they managed to stabilize his vitals. A nurse walked out to Sam and looked at her with worried eyes.

"He's stable," the female nurse said with a sincere smile as if trying to console her. "He lost a lot of blood, and the wounds seemed to be resistant to magic. I'm afraid he has to heal on his own for this. Where, if you don't mind me asking, did he obtain such wounds?"

Sam's eyes widened at the news, and when the nurse asked her a question, she froze for a moment until the nurse cleared her throat and she blinked a few times. "I...I don't know," Sam lied trying her hardest to hold it together. "When can I see him?" she asked.

"Once the headmaster has come, we will let you know, please sit until then," the nurse said as she turned and returned to her duties. Sam let out a whimper as she realized that Caleb could've died. She couldn't imagine not seeing his smiling face every day. She couldn't fathom it, and it hurt her that he was in such a dark place and she was unable to help him.

The Headmaster strode into the infirmary. He was dressed in black robes, his head uncovered showing long tangle free black hair. When he moved, his hair seemed to move. His eyes were a deep sapphire blue, and if you looked into them they seemed to swirl like a galaxy. He looked at Sam as he approached and smiled.

"Samantha, what are you doing here? You should be resting," he said his eyes delving into her mind and soul. She tried so hard to look away, but he was intimidating and she couldn't help but shrink under his sheer power. He looked at her, his eyes scouring and finding answers to his questions. She whimpered and moved to a chair where the headmaster simply shook his head. "I will speak with you later Samantha," the headmaster said a bit of authority in his voice as he walked through the double doors that led to Caleb. When he walked into the room, the nurse stationed over Caleb began to fill him in on what they'd experienced with the wounds. The headmaster's eyebrow raised in surprise as his mind went to work piecing things together. Caleb was still unresponsive as the headmaster walked over and touched the side of Caleb's face. "Live my son, you are a fighter. Nurse, I want around the clock watch, and allow his friends to visit for as long as they want. Let me know if ANYTHING changes."

"Yes sir," the nurse responded as the Headmaster leaned forward and placed a fatherly kiss on Caleb's forehead. With that he left the room and returned to check on Samantha. When he arrived she was sitting in silence.

"Samantha, do you want to explain to me what happened? Or do I need to tell you?" He began shaking his head. "What I don't understand is how you managed to release one without proper training. They are dangerous beings, and it should've been reported to me when it happened. I must say I am very disappointed in you Samantha."

"I...I know, I didn't want to involve anyone else, and I thought I could handle it," Samantha said trying her hardest not to burst into tears.

"Nonetheless, Caleb encountered it, fought it and you see the results. If you are going to banish it then you will need my help. Relax, the demon will not attack during the daylight, and it cannot breach the school's wards, but I cannot say that your families are any safer. It knows who to find and where to find them. My guess is that it is working on something to help it accomplish its goals." The headmaster sighed and shook his head. "You may see Caleb, but please remember I will visit with you all when it is time."

The Headmaster strode out of the room without another word. Samantha knew that it wasn't over and she sighed. She knew she was in trouble, but she would not allow the others to take the blame, she would take it all. She stood up but sent a text to Ariana, Jeremy, and Ambrose to let them know that Caleb was stable and that she would sit with him. Once the message was sent, she entered the room and saw Caleb's unresponsive body. Bandages wrapped around his shirtless body. Four red dots on his abdomen and on his shoulder were prominent and she swallowed hard. She didn't know what to say.

Ariana sat with Jeremy and Ambrose and looked at them.

"What are we going to do?" she said waiting for some sort of sign. As she walked around the room with a look of pure worry on her face, she felt her phone vibrate and she immediately snatched it out of her pocket. She read the message and shook her head. "This is not good. He's stable but still unresponsive, but we can see him if we want."

@Catmint

Ambrose had calmed his nerves, Caleb had access to the best care possible. Especially with magic at his side, and the doting attention of the headmaster. He shook himself from his daze and stood up, "I'm not sure there is anything we can do..." He murmured, his voice trailed off as Ariana fished her phone out of her pocket. Ambrose relaxed slightly, so he wasn't dead. It was a relief, even if Caleb wasn't out of the woods just yet. "I mean... We should go see him." Ambrose said hesitantly, unsure if it was his place to suggest it.

Jeremy stood still for once, his head nodding vigorously. "Yes, we need to be there for Caleb and Sam." He said and began the motions for the teleportation spell. He was off in an instant, reappearing at Sam's side. Jeremy gasped softly at the sight of Caleb's mauled body, he set a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's going to be okay..." He managed out softly.

Ambrose sighed with frustration as he was left alone in the library, both Ariana and Jeremy already transported to the hospital room. "Goddamnit..." He grumbled, "You guys forgot about the newbie." Ambrose took a deep breath and thought back to the times he watched Caleb perform the spell. Concentrating enough to sweat, Ambrose went through the hand motions slowly before focusing his energy on the location he wanted to enter. And before he knew it, his surroundings had changed to that of the sterile hospital room. Except he had landing a bit misplaced, off in the corner and facing the walls. Ambrose spun around in confusion for a moment before realizing he had successfully completed the spell. But his moment of elation was deflated at the sight of Caleb. Ambrose had to hold back an exclamation of surprise at the sight of Caleb's wounds.

Ambrose kept his distance, staring doe eyed at Caleb from across the room. "Sam..." He began softly, unsure of what to say. "He's going to be okay right?"

Sam held Caleb's hand as she watched the respirator bag inflate and deflate which indicated that Caleb was receiving oxygen. She slowly ran her free hand over the wounds and could feel a dark taint that caused her to retract her hand and placed it on Caleb's forehead. He seemed cold, but she knew he was alive and that reassured her that they'd have more adventures, at least she hoped. Slowly one by one everyone in the group appeared. Sam let out tears every once in a while as she sat in the chair next to the bed. She looked up as Ariana appeared, followed by Jeremy. She smiled, thankful that they had come. Then Ambrose came and the look on her face broke her heart. He looked as if he was looking at an estranged lover who was about to die and he didn't know how to say his goodbyes. She remained silent as Ariana asked how she was holding up, and her response was a simple "I'm fine," but that was it. Ariana looked at Sam and sighed. "What happened?"

"The headmaster knows everything," Sam replied looking at each of them. "He wants to help us, but he said that he will come to us once we are ready. He....," Sam paused and looked at Caleb running her thumb over the top of his hand. His grip tightened slightly around her hand and she managed a weak smile. "He told me that the demon will go after our families and that it is doing something, something dark that will cause great chaos."

Ariana sighed and reached to touch Caleb's hand, her own trembling as she retracted her hand and stuffed it in her coat pocket.

THREE WEEKS LATER!

Caleb sat up in the bed groaning as the wounds were slow in healing. He could still feel immense pain when he moved, but thankfully he had awoken from his unresponsive state. The nurses were happy to see him recovering, even if it was slow, but Caleb was happy to be alive. He had been foolish in his actions, but he hoped that his friends would forgive him. Currently, he was alone and no one was in the room. They all had lives and school to think about. The headmaster had visited with him a few times to check on him. When there was no one else around they talked about what happened and he told him everything. It was interesting to see the Headmaster's response. Now as he sat there, he couldn't help but wonder where his life would end up. He knew that he had to apologize to Ambrose. He had taken the freshman through hell and back and it saddened him. He couldn't blame Ambrose for backing away from him and not wanting to try, but Caleb sighed. He really did want to try with Ambrose. For some reason the guy intrigued him, made him smile, but he had to respect Ambrose's wishes. The look he had given him when Alex had died and he brought him back still cut deep. Sighing, he grunted in pain as he tried to adjust himself in bed again but the pain was unbearable and he pressed his morphine drip to ease the pain.

"I'm sorry Alex, I'm sorry Ambrose, I'm sorry," he said to no one as he looked towards the window and waited. He hoped to be back on his feet in the coming days.

@Catmint

Withdrawn. Cold. Distant. All of these described Ambrose pretty well after what had happened to Caleb. The group had kept in touch over the last three weeks. It was mostly Samantha giving out updates on Caleb's condition, and Jeremy and Ariana continuing their research. During their meetings, Ambrose sat in the corner of the library. He had retracted completely back into his shell, closed off from the other members. Ariana had tried to make a friend out of him a couple times, but Ambrose had brushed her off at every attempt. Ambrose had thrown himself into his studies, barely getting sleep and instead spending most of his free time in the underground library to read up on whatever material he could get his hands on. Ambrose had been become a sort of a favorite among the freshman teachers, who had noticed his motivation and focus in class. But among his peers, he was more of an outcast. A mystery. None of this bothered Ambrose though, he was too lost in his own world.

Over the past weeks, Ambrose hadn't visited Caleb once. He couldn't bare to. It was too painful and anxiety-inducing to even try and think about Caleb. Whenever his mind wandered to him, Ambrose felt a whole knot of feelings. And not all of those said feelings were anger or hurt. Instead, he focused his mind on his school work.

Now, his last class had just come out of session. Ambrose didn't bother waiting around, packing his books immediately and fleeing the lecture hall. Today was a bit different, today Samantha had been spamming the group message about how Caleb was hopefully be free from the hospital soon. Ambrose strode across the building's halls, ignoring the students that streamed around him.

We should visit as a group!

Jeremy suggested in the chat, probably trying to garner affection from Samantha. Ambrose scoffed and rolled his eyes, tucking his phone away into his back pocket. Ambrose retreated to his favorite spot on campus to study. A small garden tucked away from the busier parts of the university, it even grew delicious fruits from the low-hanging trees. Ambrose found his usual spot and settled on a stone bench, pulling out his materials and started to go through his daily assignments.

But after a moment, a cold chill went over him. The sunny sky seemed to darken and everything went quiet. Ambrose felt the shift instantly, and his head snapped up, eyes scanning the greenery around him. "Hello...?" He called out hesitantly, standing up slowly. Ambrose inched his way to the exit, praying someone was nearby to hear his screams. But his blood went cold as he spotted the figure hanging from the tree. Strung up by their organs, the body swung in the breeze. On the trunk of the tree, the words "The Time Is Upon Us" were scrawled in blood. Ambrose covered his mouth with his hand, muffling a cry of fright. His muscles refused to move for a good minute until finally Ambrose was able to scramble out of there for help.

Caleb was tired of not being able to move around on his own. He knew the wounds needed time to heal, but he was tired of being a potato. Slowly he moved his legs and draped them over the edge of the bed. His pain receptors were screaming for him to stop, but he continued. When the cold feeling of the marble floor filled his senses, he exhaled and closed his eyes. They had helped him a few times with exercises to help keep his movement after being in a bed for so long, but now he was trying on his own and he was determined. At first, when he stood, he stumbled and fell, clutching against the wall, his breathing heavy. The nurse rushed in after hearing the commotion and tried to help Caleb, but he refused, wanting to do it on his own. Stepping back against her better judgment, the nurse watched as Caleb slowly stood to his feet on his own and moved slowly towards the other side of the room. He felt pain, pain that made him want to quit, but he wouldn't, he couldn't. He was going to find a way to defeat the demon, but he would need his friend's help.

When the nurse saw that Caleb was walking on his own, she smiled and touched his shoulder.

"You're amazing you know that?" She stated as she removed her hand.

"Thanks," Caleb said smiling in between the waves of pain. He moved back to his bed and pressed the morphine drip, his pain subsided quickly. Slowly he positioned himself back in bed and sighed. He was comfortable for a man with eight stab wounds. Caleb rested as time went by. He was sure Sam was in her class just as everyone else. His homework was being delivered to him and he did as much as he could within reason. When he woke up, he groaned as he felt pain from his movement. There was chatter and he overheard the nurses talking about a dead student being found on school premises. Caleb froze up, unsure how to react to the news. The nurse looked over at him and he pretended to be asleep. She wiped his forehead with a clean rag to remove the sweat and checked his vitals before leaving. Caleb's wounds ached, and he wondered how the student died and who had found them.

At that moment everyone's phone in the group vibrated. Sam was calling an emergency meeting. She informed Caleb that he didn't have to come, that she would fill him in, but he insisted that he would be there. Caleb called for the nurse, asking her for clothes to wear as he wanted to go to the library. She insisted he stay in bed, but he refused and she shook her head.

"Fine, fine but if you go you have to report in every thirty minutes, understand?" the nurse said with a stern look.

"Alright," Caleb said.

The nurse left and returned with some clothes for Caleb. As much as she didn't like it, she had to admit that Caleb did have a strong will. She handed him the clothes and helped him get dressed.

Samantha was in the underground library as she waited for everyone to get there. Ariana was the first to arrive. She sighed and looked at Sam.

"Do you think it's the demon?" She asked, "the wards around the school should've kept it out."

"I don't know," Sam replied, "but we're going to find out. A demon of its strength wouldn't be able to breach the wards, so if it is the culprit then it is far stronger than we first anticipated, it could very well be something else entirely, having taken the form of the lesser demon to slip through the gateway to our world."

@Catmint

After a staff member of the university figured out what happened through Ambrose's babbling, he was whisked away and taken care of for about an hour. They tried to be gentle with Ambrose, trying to talk him down out of his panic. But they couldn't do much to help him, and instead concentrated their efforts on investigating the crime scene. Ambrose had been seated in a small back room, a gray blanket draped over his shoulders and a guard to watch over him.

They spent a couple hours in that room, and eventually they gave up trying to sooth him and instead started to grill him for clues. Ambrose basically shut down at that point, shaking and groaning in despair every now and then. The staff let him go after they gave up, ushering him to his dorm and setting a guard outside his room. Ambrose collapsed on the dorm bed laying still for a long time. For some reason, his roommate was no where to be seen, much to Ambrose's relief.

Finally, it occurred to him that he should let the others know what happened. With a weary sigh, Ambrose pushed himself up and fished his phone out of his jacket. His texts were short and straight to the point. Sam was on top of the situation in an instant, calling an emergency meeting. Ambrose whimpered to himself, not wanting to leave the safety of his room. But after a moment of talking himself up, he found the courage to push himself off the bed. Ambrose was sure the guard wouldn't want him to leave his room. So Ambrose retreated to the bathroom of the dorm and whispered the incantation of the spell to himself. His hands motions were shaky but he landed in the underground library with a thump.

Ambrose arrived just in time for Sam's spiel. "That thing has been watching us." He spat out, picking himself up and off the floor to take a seat. "It knew I would be there, it's trying to send a message." He paused and his voice dropped low, "Have you guys noticed anything strange? Maybe he has been leaving more subtler signs for you guys..."

Caleb watched as security scrambled to get into position at various points in university. They were trained for things like this. The death of the student did indeed travel through the school like wildfire, but the Headmaster was able to calm everyone down and get the students back on track. There was a curfew put in place. Everyone was to be in their rooms by 9:00 pm, and if anyone was caught after hours disciplinary actions would be taken. For a university, it was strange to be put on restriction, but it was all to keep them safe. Caleb exhaled as he moved gently through the halls. It felt like he was being watched even though he was down a hallway with no guards. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. A cold wind washed over him and he placed a firm hand against the wall, holding his injured side with his free hand. It was when he heard a voice in his ear that fear ran down his spine. The voice told him no one was safe, and it matched that of the demon he had fought, the same demon that gave him the wounds he had. He looked around but no one was there and he moved slightly quicker to get to the underground library.

If they weren't safe in the University then they needed to face the creature before it killed them all. He had to duck and dodge guards here and there, but he made it to the meeting spot. He slowly walked down the stairs and pushed open the door before closing it behind him. His eyes took in the scene before him. Sam was standing looking at Ambrose and listening to him while Ariana ran a nervous hand through her hair. When he closed the door and walked in they both stared at him.

"Caleb," Ariana gasped, "you shouldn't be out of bed," she said worriedly. Caleb shook his head.

"I'll be fine Ariana, besides this is important," Caleb replied looking over at Ambrose for a moment before Sam got his attention.

"Are the halls clear?" she asked.

"Security is tight, curfew is in place, it's crazy. WHAT THE HELL ARE WE FACING HERE?" Caleb questioned causing Sam's face to lose its color.

"I don't think we're dealing with a low-level demon Caleb, I think it's more than what it seems. We need to find out quickly before someone else dies," she said causing Ariana to clear her throat.

"When you fought it, Caleb, did you feel anything different from that of a normal Tuchulcha?" she asked causing Sam to bite at her fingernail waiting for an answer.

"Its eyes were soulless, dark and reminiscent to the void," Caleb said exhaustion kicking in from moving so much with his injuries. Ariana helped him to a seat next to Ambrose. "It was inhumanly strong, and magic seemed to not phase it much, though I was able to hurt it by physically attacking it. It...." Caleb paused as he turned to Ambrose and sighed. "It said it wanted you, and Sam and that it would make you suffer and make me watch. Look, Ambrose, I know you may hate me, or whatever but I want to apologize to you for what I did. We may not know each other and I feel like I messed that up and I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back, and start over, but I will make the most of the time I have left because I will not let it hurt you, I won't, even if it kills me I won't."

"Don't talk like that," Sam said a tear staining her beautiful eyes, "you're talking as if you're going to die as if you've accepted it."

"It sounds like a monster, something more than a Tuchulcha. Are you able to draw what you saw?" Ariana asked placing a soft hand on his shoulder.

"I can give it a whirl," Caleb replied causing Ariana to nod before walking over to the other side of the room to give Caleb a chance to talk to Ambrose. "So can we talk?" He asked Ambrose as he clenched his side and exhaled painfully. Sam was about to move to his side but he shook his head and she sighed moving back to study what she knew about the creature.

@Catmint

Ambrose was perched on the end of library chair, legs pulled in close to his chest. He resembled something of a frightened bird. He couldn't get all those awful images out of his head. It was seared into his head, the dangling body of a fellow student. And Ambrose knew down to his core, that was the intended purpose of the death. To remind him that he was being watched. And that thing had accomplished his mission flawlessly. He was so lost in his own head, he barely noticed Caleb entering the room until he spoke up.

Ambrose looked at Caleb with slightly widened eyes, listening to his description of the monster sent chills down his spine. Ambrose shook his head and ran his hand through his black curls, "I know you're sorry." He murmured quietly, and looked away from Caleb quickly. He couldn't bear to look at him without thinking of how horrible everything had been.

But surprisingly, he was relieved when they gave the two time to speak alone. But he kept his eyes pinned to the library table, looking at the carvings of initials that looked like they've been there for a long while. "Yeah... I guess we can talk." He said with a small shrug. "I mean... What is there to say?"

Caleb looked at Ambrose after he confessed his apology. He meant every word he said, but Ambrose quickly looked away from him. No doubt he was thinking about all the bad things that had occurred after they had met. He was silent for a while until Ambrose spoke and his head lifted to look at Ambrose with sincere eyes. What was there to say? What more could he say? He didn't know what else to say other than that he was sorry and wanted to move forward, but he had apologized already. He sighed and reached out, even in pain and touched Ambrose's hand.

"I just wanted to make sure you are alright," Caleb began lightly squeezing Ambrose's hand. "You're an amazing guy Ambrose, and you deserve to be happy in your life. You've been through a lot, but I want you to be happy Ambrose, and I want you to enjoy your time here. I will do everything in my power to make sure you are safe, even if it kills me."

Caleb released his soft grip on Ambrose's hand and clutched his side because of the wave of pain and nausea that washed over him. He leaned back and groaned closing his eyes and exhaling slowly.

@Catmint

Ambrose lowered his head, unable to look back at Caleb, knowing Caleb's piercing gaze would only draw him in. He stiffened when Caleb made contact, mind flashing back to that terrible moment Caleb almost took Alex's life. Yet, he didn't pull away, allowing Caleb to rest his hand upon his own. He listened patiently to Caleb's speech, wondering if he actually meant it.

"You're wrong. I'm not an amazing guy or even a particularly nice person." He said stubbornly, "And I don't need to be safe if it's going to kill you." At that last part, Ambrose met Caleb's gaze, his eyes burning defiantly. But his expression instantly softened to concern when Caleb groaned in pain.

Ambrose could practically feel Sam's piercing glare from afar. The thought crossed his mind that Sam blamed Ambrose for Caleb's condition. Thinking that he was the one who set off his erratic and reckless behavior. And it wasn't far from the truth at all. Ambrose blamed himself too, he blamed everything that's happened on himself. It was what motivated him to throw himself into his studies, to make he could prevent anything like this again.

"I just... Everything is so terrible and I don't know how to fix any of this." Ambrose stopped, his voice on the verge of breaking. He was vulnerable, after the terrible things he had witnessed today. "I wish this was all a dream," He confessed with a shake of his head. "All I know, is that I need to be stronger if I'm going to survive."

Caleb's eyes met Ambrose's and he could see the pain behind them. He understood then that Ambrose hid behind his emotions in order to prevent anything from breaking through. Even when it came to affairs of the heart, but Caleb wanted to let him know that he didn't blame him for any of it, he didn't, he blamed himself for what happened. He shouldn't have gotten so out of control, he shouldn't have taken what Ambrose had said so direct. He could relate, he was supposed to be on break from relationships, and here he was trying to fall back into one. He would have to work hard to keep his promise of no relationships, but there still remained the part of him that felt something between Ambrose and him. As Ambrose spoke after their eyes met and emotions were released, he couldn't help but feel bad. He had done this, he had done this to Ambrose and it hurt to realize.

"Ambrose, I want you to know that it's not your fault. What happened was not your fault. I don't want you blaming yourself for what happened, do you understand?" Caleb began as he tried to give a reassuring smile. "Sometimes I wish it were all a dream too, but then I realize that I wouldn't want to wake up and not have met you." Caleb sighed and tried to stand up, but he realized that if he tried there would be more pain and he wasn't ready for that yet, his body had just come down from an episode and he didn't want to put it through another one so soon.

"If you want to get stronger, I will help you I will teach you," Caleb said with a soft sigh of relief from the subsiding pain.

"Actually that's not a bad idea. From now on I think it's best if we travel in pairs. It's less likely to attack if we are in pairs," Sam spoke up causing Caleb to look over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"But I don't want to interfere in Ambrose's normal routine," Caleb said turning back to look at Ambrose.

"Would you mind Ambrose?" Sam asked, "By the way, I spoke with Alex and as much as he hates you right now Caleb, he really hopes you fully recover and he is on board for stopping it. I think Ariana works best with him so she could pair with him, and Jeremy and I work well together so we can pair up. You two are already close...." Sam stopped talking realizing she had interfered in their time and sighed. "I'm sorry," she added turning back to what she and Ariana were working on.

Caleb was about to reply when Sam apologized and he closed his mouth. "It's really up to you, I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do. I don't blame you for anything and I sure as hell don't want you being alone after what you experienced."

@Catmint

He shook his curls out in defiance to Caleb's praise. He had it all twisted, Caleb idealized this perfect image of Ambrose. That he could do no wrong. It worried Ambrose to be viewed that way. "I deserve to be blamed. We all do." He snapped out quietly, before relaxing once more. He realized he shouldn't work himself up after everything that's happened. So he sighed heavily and took Caleb's compliment with a neutral shrug.

His eyes brighten though at the mention of tutorship. He was hesitant yes, but he had witnessed Caleb's power. It was nothing to sneeze at. He was startled when Sam spoke up, and not too happy that she had been listening in. "It's fine... I can.." He was cut off as Sam continued to ramble on. Ambrose crossed his arms over his chest, and waited until she realized how she had cut in. "Right." Ambrose murmured and looked back at Caleb. "I don't really want to experience anything like that again... And if pairing would help that, then I can work my routine around it." Ambrose nodded as he warmed up to the idea.

The had decided to pair up for the time being in hopes that the creature wouldn't attack them if they were together, but where did they leave the other students of BlackBrick? They had to put a stop to it, they just had to. It was their fault that the creature had escaped, and doing nothing would mean death to more innocent individuals and Caleb wasn't going to let that happen. He looked at Ambrose and smiled softly before once more attempting to stand, only to stumble forward, falling to one knee. Ariana was about to pick him up when the Headmaster strode in elegantly with a look of concern on his face.

"You shouldn't be out of bed Caleb," the Headmaster stated with a look so intense Caleb attempted to avoid it. The Headmaster's eyes fell onto Ambrose and he raised an eyebrow. "So this is Ambrose?" the Headmaster said strolling over to Ambrose. He moved as if he were gliding, and in truth, he could very well be. His robe covered his lower body completely hiding his feet and legs. He moved a strand of hair from his face, his eyes drilling into Ambrose's deepest darkest fears and desires. "I must say Ambrose you are quite the young man, clearly out of my son's league."

"DAD!" Caleb interjected looking embarrassed.

"Well I speak the truth, Ambrose is different I can sense it within him, whether he chooses to accept it or not is up to him. One thing I have learned in my many many many years of living is that you can't change the past, you can only work towards a bright future. Shutting others out is only going to hurt you," the Headmaster said looking at both Caleb and Ambrose before strolling to the center of the room. "Nonetheless, I have come with news. I have decided to grant you four access to the forbidden area in the library, this will help you figure out what it is you are facing. Also, I have the elves working on charms that will keep you safe as you figure out how to banish whatever you released."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Sam said. With these new resources, they'd be able to figure it out.

"Also, if you succeed in your endeavors, which I have faith that you will, I will highly recommend becoming student aid advisors. Share the knowledge," the Headmaster said as he moved over to Caleb who had managed to stand up, but he still felt extremely weak. "You need to go back to your room in the infirmary, I am sure your boyfriend will visit," he said shooting a look in Ambrose's direction, "I leave you to your vices. Find it and destroy it, I will do what I can to keep the students safe from here on out."

Caleb's eyes widened at his comment and his face flooded with color as he looked away not wanting to meet Ambrose's gaze or anyone else in the room. Sam giggled at the comment while Ariana shook her head. She was about to say something but the Headmaster held up a hand as if he knew she wanted to speak.

"Ambrose, why do you have so many questions?" the Headmaster asked his eyes once again breaking barriers and reaching deep into his soul.

@Catmint

Ambrose had just started to relax when the headmaster came gliding in. He instantly stiffened, sensing the power rolling off him in waves. Ambrose was prepared for a tongue lashing or worse, for being caught in this part of the library and as well as the destructiong the group had indirectly caused. He shrunk under the heavy gaze, looking away in attempt to avoid the feeling that the headmaster could see into his very own mind. But now that he thought about it, he probably had that ability. Which unnerved Ambrose even more.

But Ambrose blinked in surprise, the light teasing was not what he expected. "Er..." His voice trailed off, Ambrose was dumbfounded by the light-hearted words.

"Listen, you..." He tried to start, but his voice trailed off as the headmaster briskly kept on his speech. His eyes followed Caleb's father to the center of the room and he let a sigh of relief as the subject changed away from him.

A laugh rippled across the room and Ambrose's face went red as he heard Jeremy snort from his position in the corner of the library. "I'm not-!" Ambrose cut himself off and groaned in frustration. His arms were thrown across his chest and turned back to his seat at the table. But before he knew it, the headmaster was boring into his skull again. "Wha-?" He regained his compsure and swallowed thickly, "Because it helps to survive." He said bluntly, honestly. Ambrose at least knew he couldn't fool the headmaster with some half-assed answer. "Why do you even care?" He shot back, he stood up from his seat, putting distance between himself and the headmaster.

The Headmaster looked at Ambrose with an odd expression on his face. His eyes continued their assault scouring his mind and soul and as he looked at Ambrose, Caleb looked between them. There was silence in the room after Ambrose had asked why the Headmaster even cared. He had a strong wall up, a defense mechanism that Caleb recognized because he used to do the same thing when he was younger. Instead of saying anything, Caleb, Sam, and Ariana stood still and waited for the Headmaster to speak.

"Ambrose, I take it you don't think I should care for the well-being of my students?" the Headmaster asked as the Headmaster vanished and reappeared right next to Ambrose before speaking again. "This wall you've put up, this barrier because someone you cared about died is no way to live. You blame yourself constantly for it, don't you? If only I were clean if only I had the strength to say no."

Caleb's eyes narrowed. He was confused and it showed. Sam's eyes widened as did Ariana. The Headmaster was delving into Ambrose's past and it was scary to witness. Caleb wanted to step in but as he took a step forward he was forcefully placed in the chair that had suddenly appeared behind him. He had a shocked expression on his face knowing that the Headmaster wasn't done talking to Ambrose.

"Is this your way of creating distance? Shutting out any possibility of affection, attempting to cover up the fact that you are lonely, and you've never forgiven yourself for what happened? Do you know why you are standing in this spot before me now? Because you are a fighter, Ambrose. If you were not we would not be having this conversation now would we?" The Headmaster was walking around Ambrose as if stalking him like a predator. "Why do you lock yourself in this cage and pretend? If you want to be truly free from your past Ambrose you must let go, and if you want any shot at building new relationships you must accept the fact that you can't control every aspect of your life. Things happen, but it is how you respond that defines who you are. Live day by day Ambrose, live day by day."

The Headmaster turned and looked at the others.

"I bid you all farewell for now, but you will see me again."

Caleb gasped as he felt the sheer power pressing against him leave. He looked at Sam who looked at him then looked at Jeremy and Ariana. Ariana had tears in her eyes and took a step towards Ambrose but stopped when Sam grabbed her shoulder. Caleb looked at Ambrose feeling extremely sorry for him. He wanted to be there for him, but he knew he'd just be pushed away. Instead he stood up slowly and walked over to him.

"You okay?"

@Catmint

Ambrose stared back at the Headmaster with widened eyes, unable to look away as they reached deep into his mind. "No, that's not what I meant-" He started in his defense, but his voice broke short as the headmaster went deeper. Ambrose whirled to face the Headmaster, rage crossing his face. "Don't you fucking mention that again-!" He choked out, but his voice shook, and angry tears gathered at the corner of his eyes.

Ambrose barely noticed Caleb trying to interfere, his shoulder slump as the Headmaster continued on. His voice rang through his head, and it hurt to hear the brutally honest words. Ambrose's shoulders slump in defeat as the Headmaster circled him, his voice still snaking through the air and pounding into his head. Ambrose could barely stand on his legs, and his head drooped, arms wrapped around himself in a pitiful attempt to protect himself from the further violation of privacy. Ambrose felt like he could breath again when the Headmaster left the room quietly, and he groaned quietly to himself as he tried to keep it together.

Ambrose shook slightly, mind rewinding over and over again at the Headmaster's speech. It didn't matter to Ambrose that the Headmaster had complimented him or that he had even encouraged him to live a better life. His words fell on deaf ears, instead Ambrose was forced to relive that terrible moment in his life. And even worse, everything had taken place in front of a audience. A part of Ambrose wanted to just scream and break everything in sight, and crackling energy appeared at his closed fists. But exhaustion and pain ebbed through him, pinning him to his spot.

Ambrose flinched at the sound of Caleb's voice, he shook his head silently in reply. After everything that had happened today, this was the last thing he needed. "I can't do this..." He whispered to himself, legs finally giving up underneath him. Ambrose collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily. Ambrose recognized he was going through another one of his anxiety attacks, but his heart still pounded and he still gasped for air in desperation. Ambrose sat there, trembling, trying to get a handle on himself. After a few minutes, the attack finally past and left only exhaustion. He pushed a hand through his curls, "I-I need to go." Ambrose shot to his feet, not looking back as he fled from the room. He couldn't bear to look at their faces, and especially not to see Caleb's reaction.

He ran back to his dorm room, shutting the door with a bang. He heard his roommate stir from the other side of the room. "Where have you been?" The blonde haired man asked, annoyance laced in his voice. Ambrose ignored it and threw himself on his, burying his face into the covers. "Okay, drama queen." The voice poked again, but Ambrose was already slipping into his dreams.

That night was tough. After the Headmaster aired all of Ambrose's laundry for everyone to hear, Caleb found it hard to sleep. He was worried. He wanted to go after Ambrose but in his current condition, he was unable to do so. He remembered Sam telling him to give Ambrose time, let him mull things over. One thing Caleb learned was that the Headmaster had ways of getting through to people and using it as a lesson to be learned. He was in the hospital bed looking out the window wondering what would happen the next day, wondering if another life would be snuffed out like a candle flame. Thoughts plagued his mind, but none more so than the well being of Ambrose. He prayed that he was okay but he wondered what was going through his mind. He had never seen the Headmaster read into someone like that before, it was scary to witness, but he was sure it was even more terrifying to be on the receiving end.

Sam spent most of the night with Ariana in the forbidden section of the library, but it was becoming harder to pinpoint exactly what the creature was. Neither of them had seen it yet, but perhaps if they could trap it or lure it to see for themselves they would be able to come up with a plan to get rid of it. Ariana was tired and Sam decided to let her spend the night in her dorm.

Caleb eventually fell asleep with his mind on Ambrose. He would go check on him first thing in the morning.

The sun rose filling the sky with light. The smell of breakfast filled the cafe and the halls leading to it. Caleb's eyes slowly opened but his arm quickly shot up to shield his eyes from the invading sun. He groaned as he crawled out of the infirmary bed and made his way to the shower. He was good to be able to move again, but he was careful not to agitate his healing wounds. When he emerged from the shower the Headmaster was waiting for him.

"My guess is you need clothes right?" He said holding a pair of pants, underwear and a shirt. Caleb smiled and walked slowly over to the bed to grab the clothes.

"Thank you," he said as he pulled on the shirt. He only had a towel wrapped around him and a shirt was welcome as was the underwear he pulled on before dropping the towel and pulling on the pants. "Dad, why did you do what you did yesterday?"

"Oh, you're talking about my assessment of your boyfriend?"

"He's...He's not my boyfriend," Caleb replied sitting on the edge of the bed.

"But that's not stopping you from going to check on him this early in the morning is it?" the Headmaster replied causing Caleb to sigh.

"I like him okay, it's just he doesn't like me so it's pointless," Caleb said looking up at the Headmaster who shook his head.

"Hmmm," he said strolling over to the door that led into the room. "He's been through a lot Caleb, help him overcome, help him find resolve over his inner demons. If you can do that you may have a chance."

Caleb shrugged his shoulders and stood up as the Headmaster left him alone. The walk to Ambrose's room was a long and tiring one, but when he stood in front of the door, he knocked soundly and waited.

@Catmint

He tossed and turned throughout the night, occasionally crying out and waking up in a cold sweat. He dreamed of faceless demons, whispering prophecies of a new rising. He dreamed of the dead students, slaughtered like cattle in the monster's wake. And finally he dreamed of Caleb, lost and afraid. But finally, late into the night he found a light sleep that carried him through the morning.

A knock rang through the dorm room, but Ambrose still dozed lightly. A scoff and a flick of his blond hair, Morgan, Ambrose's roommate, got up from his seat on his lounge chair. Morgan opened the door stiffly, blue eyes flashing with a mix curiosity and suspicion. Morgan was of course aware of Caleb's presence, Morgan was a keen student, and someone has infamous as Caleb would show up on his radar.

"Can I help you?" Morgan said sarcastically, opening the door wider for Caleb to come in. The only reason why Morgan would allow Caleb in, was so he could snoop on his business. Surely, it would serve useful to know the business of one of the most powerful student on campus. Everyone knew about Caleb's close ties with the headmaster.

Morgan glanced over his shoulder into the dorm's bedroom, "Ambrose! We have a visitor!" He snapped loudly, and Ambrose jerked awake with a start. He rolled out of bed, curly hair in a mess and dark bag under his eyes. "Wha-?" He said in a daze as he staggered to Morgan's side. "Who the fuc- Oh, Caleb." Ambrose said drowsily as he recognized Caleb's face. "Come in I guess."

"Wait, you know him?" He interjected with a note of disbelief. Morgan's eyes snapped between the two, calculating, trying to figure out how they even knew each other. Ambrose wasn't the most popular of students, and certainly didn't run with Caleb's kind of social circle.

Ambrose shrugged in reply, obviously unconcerned with Morgan's curiosity. He stumbled from the door onto the couch, grunting as he plopped down.